By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
DECATUR - Hartselle golfers shook off tough playing conditions Monday afternoon at Point Mallard Golf Course to claim team championships in the 2009 Morgan County Golf Tournament.
The soggy course wasn’t enough to stop Hartselle from winning both the boys’ and girls’ county championships.
Hartselle’s girls team finished eight strokes ahead of Austin after having three of its four players shoot scores in the 80s.
Kaylon King claimed low medalist honors with her round of 81, while Arin Eddy and Heather Nail earned spots on the all-tournament team along with Austin’s Sloan Davis and Kristin Askew, and Brewer’s Rachel Butler.
King was 2-over on the final nine holes to beat Eddy for top honors by two strokes.
Eddy finished with a round of 83, while Nail was a stroke back at 84. Mary Roberts rounded out the Hartselle group with a 99.
Danville’s Jordan Spinks led the Lady Hawks with a round of 126, while Emily Ziegler and Chelsea Keenum had 128 scores. Courtney Thomas shot a 130 for Danville.
Stephanie Hargrove led Falkville with a 105, while Hollis Merritt shot a 111. Jessi Shelton and Rachel Colwell finished at 113, while Summar Hargrove had a 114.
Butler was the only Brewer girl to finish under 100. Whitney Borden shot a 104, while Jesse Lawrence finished at 113. Hannah Chunn had a 122 and Brooke Harvel carded a 132.
In the boys’ tournament, the Tigers’ Andrew Sandor shot a 76 to finish second behind Austin’s Zach Gourgeout, who turned in a score of 74 in the tournament.
Hartselle was coming off a week where the Tigers played three 18-hole rounds in South Carolina and also played another 18 holes Saturday before the start of the county tournament.
The extra play might have been enough to send Hartselle to the title.
Josh Roberson carded an 81, while Kaleb Estes finished at 82. Clark Gulley came in with a 96 for the Tigers.
But the play of fifth player Daniel Wilhite helped cap the title. Wilhite finished with one of his best rounds of the season at 85 to put the Tigers firmly in first place.
Sandor made a late run at Gourgeout to tighten the battle for low medalist honors, but he couldn’t catch the Austin golfer.
Danville’s boys finished third overall after placing three players on the all-tournament team - Dillon Childers and Daniel Bowen, who both finished at 80, and David Bates, who shot an 81.
The Hawks’ Russell Standridge carded a 93, while Dylon Lange shot a 103.
Priceville finished with a team score of 349, 25 strokes behind Hartselle. The Bulldogs’ Brett Wilson, the low medalist in the 2008 county tournament, shot an 82. Micah Rigoni and Jameson Dozier finished at 86 and 88 respectively.
Kohl Sowder led Brewer with a round of 94, while Cody Lanford was a stroke back at 95.
Falkville’s Jake Thomas led the Blue Devils with a 99.